Motown notebook: Gordy story to PBS; Bolton's Motown album set for release

January 31, 2013

Detroit Free Press Pop Music Writer

• Berry Gordy Jr. will be the subject of a one-hour special on public television's "The HistoryMakers."

The Motown founder was interviewed at length by journalist Gwen Ifill at the Art Institute of Chicago in November, part of a tribute that included sets by Kem, Valerie Simpson and Janelle Monae -- and a performance by Gordy of his childhood composition "Berry's Boogie." The episode will roll out later this month on PBS stations nationwide, with a Feb. 11 premiere on Detroit Public TV (Channel 56).

Indeed, the Gordy special will kick off a Motown theme week on DPTV, with shows airing at 11 nightly, including concerts by Valerie Simpson (Feb. 12), Smokey Robinson and others (Feb. 13) and Stevie Wonder (Feb. 14).

• Michael Bolton's new album of Motown cover songs, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough: A Tribute to Hitsville U.S.A.," will be released in February with a high-profile campaign on the HSN shopping network.

A Bolton concert at the Venetian resort in Las Vegas will air Feb. 8 on HSN, including planned duets with Robinson, Simpson and Martha Reeves, and an appearance by Gordy. Some proceeds from the show will benefit the nonprofit Motown Museum.

HSN is proving an increasingly popular venue for acts targeting an adult demographic: Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett and Josh Groban have all launched recent projects on the network, and Lionel Richie's HSN partnership last year helped make "Tuskegee" his biggest album in two decades.

• With Gordy's "Motown: The Musical" scheduled to make its official Broadway premiere April 14, many Motown alumni are expected to gather for a special performance of the show April 5. Invitations went out last week to artists and former staffers.

A show spokesman said no plans are yet in place for a Detroit event tied to the show, but "Motown" will be getting heavy promotion here in the label's hometown.